Logicians
“Once we were Gods, but what are we now? Wilfully ignorant savages and self-deluded fools, little more than helpless children scattered and lost in the cold dark. But I tell you, we have been Gods and we shall be Gods again.” —In Defence of the Future: A Logical Discourse, Author unknown, banned M.36 The Logicians are an alliance of heretical factions and tech-cults who have long been a thorn in the side of Calixis and the nearby Ixaniad Sectors, but whose origins go back considerably further into the Imperium, and indeed humanity’s past. Founded not around a single charismatic figure or dark religion, they find their inspiration in a forbidden heretical text called “In Defence of the Future: A Logical Discourse,” a work declared blasphemous by both the Ministorum and the Cult Mechanicus and banned for several millennia. By nature, the Logicians are a so-called “progressive” cult. They favor the advancement of mankind through progress and the acquisition of technology, believing that they should cast off the oppression of the Ministorum, overthrow the High Lords of Terra, and put an end to the Adeptus Mechanicus’ stranglehold on scientific and technical lore. Ultimately, the Logicians aim to bring about a return to the mythic power of the Dark Age of Technology and the enthronement of humanity as the omnipotent and indeed single surviving sentient race in the galaxy. Finding adherents through a secret network of ruthless mercantile interests and power-hungry nobles, the Logician cult is a haven for hereteks and rogue tech-priests, and is highly organized and well equipped. The Logicians are calculating, secretive, and patient in the execution of their plots and intrigues, utterly callous in their pursuit of power, and unceasing in their hunt for ever better weapons and tools by which to achieve their ends. For centuries the Calixis Sector has known the corrosive influence of the Logician cult, and although the power and reach of this tech-cult and its splinter factions have waxed and waned over the years, the group’s presence and its insidious teachings have proven impossible to entirely stamp out. In the past the Logicians have been responsible for countless deaths in the pursuit of power and progress, and once even threatened the stability of the Calixis Sector thanks to their shadowy role in the Meritech Wars. Although purged and hounded to near destruction following those dark times six centuries ago, the Logicians have returned, seemingly even more subtle and insidious than before. There are those who argue that the threat they now pose is greater than ever. Some even whisper that the cult has powerful backers among the Calixian elite and perhaps even members of the Holy Ordos itself. Known heretek Ammicus Tole is a former member of the cult, who has now cultivated followings of his own on Sinophia and Cyclopea. 'Tenets, Goals, and Heretical Beliefs' The proscribed work around which the cult has its foundation, a document entitled “In Defence of the Future: A Logical Discourse,” first appeared more than four millennia ago in the Segmentum Solar, at the very heart of the Imperium, and some say parts of the text itself were copied from ancient and utterly proscribed works buried deep in the vaults of Holy Terra itself, although its author or collator remains unknown. The book itself promulgates the dangerous philosophy of progress, that the advancement of technology and science should be immediately pursued at all cost and regardless of its source for the ultimate “benefit” of humanity and the restoration of the lost “Golden Age” of mankind. In such a new age, humanity would again bestride the stars like a colossus, the ancient domains of man would be re-conquered, held, and expanded, and all the threats to human existence posed by the xenos or the warp could be confronted and crushed utterly. To this end, the work posits the destruction of the Cult Mechanicus and the overthrow of the “stifling grip” of Imperial authority and an end to what the book refers to as the Ecclesiarchy’s “tyranny of lies” concerning the Emperor and the Imperial Creed. Instead, the “logical course” for the restoration of order and a rebirth of humanity’s destiny among the stars is that power be placed in the hands of a new absolutist oligarchy of “forward thinkers” and those “fitted by vision and superiority” to rule---namely the Logicians themselves. The doctrines and arguments contained within the work expound the need for utter ruthlessness in order to attain the “glorious coming age” to which humanity is heir, and goes on to advocate the forging of a secret empire within the body of the Imperium itself as the agency of its overthrow, and the unrestrained pursuit of conquest and victory through the arts of technology and science at any cost. The work supports this dangerous creed with numerous worthy sounding and elaborate justifications for any needed enormity of slaughter or sacrifice to gain the ends it glorifies, regardless of the cost in human life or freedom. In short, to attain such a living, tangible paradise---a future on which the universe itself is held in the palm of mankind’s hand---no price is too high to pay in the present. It is, the book contends, a matter of simple logic. 'Cult Structure and Activity' Like many widespread and successful cults, the Logicians operate a largely cellular structure to their organisation and are bound largely by doctrine and shared goals rather than a rigid hierarchical structure. Some in the Holy Ordos argue that the cult’s only true members are the oligarchs that govern and fund its many independent cells; however, for such an organised and well-funded group, additional manpower is seldom a problem. Theses cell directors, or “techtrarchs” as the Logicians call themselves, are often mercantile lords, trade officials, guild masters, and in rare instances, rogue members of the Adeptus Mechanicus who have allowed themselves to be blinded by their own lust for power and profit. Due to their high standing in society, the Logicians are very circumspect in their activities and highly organized, often acting far removed from the cult’s activities on the ground. They prefer instead to operate through small units of highly trained agents, specialists, and mercenaries to carry out their plans and protect their interests. The cult’s activities are principally centered on the acquisition of power. Power to them is political influence, the might of such forbidden arts as science and technology, and, of course, wealth. To this last end, the Logicians secretly nurture and fund coteries of hereteks and renegade tech-priests who have the purpose of developing advanced tools and weaponry with which to fight their battles, boost their wealth, and ultimately make them powerful enough to overcome the Imperium from within. The Logicians provide these renegades and recidivists with the backing, manpower, and resources (regardless of how unethical or abhorrent in nature) to pursue their projects, insane theories, and dark desires—just so long as the Logicians profit from the results of their labors. As a part of this doctrine of power through technological superiority, they are also heavily involved in the study and replication of captured xenos-tech and in particular the pursuit of archeaotech—the ancient relics of humanity’s advanced science in millennia past. They have no love of the alien and follow a recognizably Monodominant perspective. They simply have no compunction in taking whatever the xenos might have of value and using it to their own ends. The cult strives to maintain a widespread and efficient intelligence gathering network in order both to shield it from outside intervention and to keep it informed of matters and discoveries of interest. Likewise the cult’s suspected links to local planetary organized crime groups, archeopirate factions, and the more disreputable of Rogue Traders are also noteworthy, as the Logicians see these outsider groups as perfect avenues by which their goals can be reached, as well as eminently disposable lackeys to be used and abandoned as the need arises. 'The Iron Techtrarchs' Over recent decades one particular faction within the Logicians of the Calixis Sector has grown to power, known as the Iron Techtrarchs. If the rumors among recidivist crime lords and the testimony of interrogated cult members are to be believed, these Techtrarchs form a ruling council of sorts (the number of which varies depending on the source, ranging from three to as many as a hundred members) for the Logicians of the Calixis and Ixaniad Sectors. This council operates in concert to determine policy and coordinate long-term planning for the cult’s diverse cells. It also administers the Logicians’ seemingly massive commercial and financial resources to their countless individual plots, expeditions and experimental projects, as well as to punish the failure of their underlings. Failure is a thing they will not tolerate. Although several high-ranking Logicians supposedly linked to the Iron Techtrarchs have been exposed and purged in the last decade, conclusive proof of this elusive group has never been found. This lack of proof has led some factions within both the Adeptus Arbites and the Holy Ordos to doubt the existence of the Iron Techtrarchs, believing them to be either a simple vainglorious myth or a deliberate fabrication of the cult’s leaders to paint themselves as part of a wider and “all-powerful” conspiracy---the better to inspire loyalty and obedience in their followers. Were the Iron Techtrarchs to exist as the rumors claim, then they would have to be made up of highly placed members of the greatest noble houses or commercial powers of the two sectors. They would need to have amongst their number ranking members of the Adepta or even the Holy Ordos in order to wield their rumored power and resources claimed for them and remain hidden---a prospect that fills some Inquisitorial factions with the deepest unease. 'Hereteks, Progressives and Renegades' Arguably the real power base of the cult is the diverse number of hereteks, scholars and even renegade tech-priests within its ranks. This relatively small but potent group carries out much of the cult’s real activities, and each serves in its own way to contribute to the Logicians’ power and knowledge. They are a diverse group, often operating in cells either as individuals or small cabals on a single project, usually being quite ignorant of each other and their activities, and answering only (to a greater or lesser extent) to the Techtrarch that has sponsored them. They vary a great deal in power, knowledge, and specialization, ranging from promising hereteks recruited from within organized crime groups or merchant guilds who might specialize in tech salvage, drug manufacture, or weapon crafting, to disbarred medicae and scholars of forbidden lore on the run from the authorities. Outcast members of the Cult Mechanicus are a particular prize for the cult as few are able to match their skills and learning. Having already broken some ban or Edict of Mars, they are often drawn to the Logicians for protection while fleeing destruction by their own kind. In many cases, the loyalty of these individuals to the Logicians is questionable, to say the least, a fact that the Logicians view as an acceptable risk. Though there are some true converts to the cause and fanatic adherents to the Logical Discourse among them, many serve only through an alliance of convenience, bartering service and experimental data for protection, concealment, and the opportunity to pursue their obsessions uncontested. 'Cult Agents' Where possible, the Logician cult prides itself on directly employing only the best as its agents, and beneath the Techtrarchs the cult cells are made up of skilled organizers and administrators, as well as specialists such as pilots, scribes, financiers, and information-brokers. Most of these operate under a variety of cover identities to ensure their Techtrarch’s bidding is carried out. The ranks of the Logician cells are rounded out by a hard core of professionally trained killers and soldiers, all of the highest caliber and thoroughly tested for competency, ruthlessness, and loyalty to the cause. These militant agents are one of the most marked features of the tech cult, as their skill and efficiency sets them above many of the foes that the Imperial forces must face when dealing with petty insurrectionists, criminal gangs, or fanatic cult zealots. Highly motivated, tactically skilled, and well equipped, Logician cult agents have repeatedly proven to be the bane of unsuspecting enforcer groups and ill-prepared Acolytes when the cult has been encountered. In addition to this, the Logicians have been known to create Infil-Traitors, mind-wiped unknowing assassins that can be triggered to attack their targets under specific circumstances, though the means through which they do this is unknown. Project Ashen Tear In the last several decades the Logician cult in the Calixis Sector has been repeatedly linked to a shadowy organization of assassins, operating primarily within the Josian Reach area of the sector. Recent intelligence gathered by the efforts of Inquisitor Srax-Rhame has indicated that this assassin cadre known as the Ashen Tear is actually little more than a “cult within a cult” of the Logicians themselves. The Ashen Tear project was created to give the cult a purpose-built resource of living weapons with which it could strike directly at its enemies, removing with surgical precision any individual obstacle in the cult’s path, or deal with anyone that would betray it. In structure, the Ashen Tear appears much like an Imperial Death Cult, somewhat an imitation of the great Officio Assassinorum itself. Its killers are selected from a young age and put through grueling physical and psychological conditioning, harsh enough that few are likely survive to attain their majority. 'The Logicians in the Calixis Sector' Although its threat has by no means been a constant one, the Logician cult in several incarnations has long been a foe of the authorities in the Calixis Sector. Some of the oldest case files in the Tricorn Palace archives deal with plots and incidents connected to the Logicians, dating back as far as the Angevin Crusade itself, including the exploitation and theft of several sophisticated relics recovered during the wars that forged the sector into being. The Inquisition is not the cult’s only foes. It is rumored that within the oubliettes of Mechanicus Panopticon Orbital station in the Lathe System there exists an entire vault of castigation, furnished and equipped using only materials crafted from the bones and re-tooled implants of Logicians and their apostate renegades taken by the tech-priests over the years. Another enemy, although this one more unusual than most, comes in the form of the excommunicated radical Inquisitorial faction known as the Phaenonites, having returned to the Calixis Sector and begun to infiltrate the Calixian Conclave. The Phaenonites, themselves known to employ malefic sorcery combined with dark technology, have set themselves as bloody rivals to the Logicians over the remnants of the powerful and insane Archmagos Umbra Malygris, reputed to be a hidden vault known as the 'Altar of Genocide.' But their rivalry goes beyond this, having fought with the Phaenonites elsewhere, thus allowing the Logicians to quickly recognize their rivals for what they were. Since then, the Logician presence in the Calixis Sector has plotted to expose the Phaenonites’ presence to the Holy Ordos, hoping that the Inquisition will do them the service of wiping out this hated rival, whilst the Phaenonites have likewise plotted to do the same in return from within the Conclave. As can be imagined, the roll of crimes and blasphemies that the Logicians have tallied in the two millennia since the sector’s founding is a long one, ranging from simple thefts, murders, abductions, and political intrigues to forbidden experimentation causing the deaths of tens of thousands, and even the fomentation of a full scale rebellion that for a time threatened the stability of both the Ixaniad and Calixis Sectors. After several centuries of near silence, the Logicians have returned in force, and although their wider goals remain undefined, their doctrine is as unchanged as their heresy. Currently, a small cell of Logicians about fifteen strong has infiltrated the sector capital of Scintilla and has taken up residence within the southern portions of the Coscarla Division in Hive Sibellus. Their leader, an insane woman known as the Churgeon, has set up a chop shop where upon her Body Snatchers ensnare the people of the district at night for her horrifying experiments. The other Logicians have replaced the local enforcers, ensuring that no prosecution will follow up the disappearances. At least, until the Inquisition catches wind of their activity, that is... 'The Infiltration of the Josian Reach' Over the last several centuries, the Logician heresy has once again begun to feature in the incidents and intelligence monitored by the Adeptus Arbites and the Holy Ordos in the Calixis Sector. Reports and contacts have been registered from various worlds and locations, tracking a definite pattern over time. It is spreading toward the sector core across the Josian Reach, with isolated incidents reported as wide afield as Sinophia and Endrite. This latest infiltration seems markedly more ruthless in its execution and callous disregard for life than ever before, with its plans now featuring a “scorched earth” policy in covering its tracks and concealing any tangible evidence of its activities from the authorities. New developments within the cult have also come to light, such as the role of the so-called Iron Techtrarchs and the use of the assassins of the Ashen Tear, as well as a distinct tendency toward mass-casualty events such as powerful explosions, diversionary terrorist attacks, and even indiscriminate bioweapon releases. All of these are used to protect the Logicians from assault and mask their escape when confronted. The pattern of Logician activities so far has been one of covert action to remove opposition and infiltrate local authorities in order to pave the way for cell groups conducting horrific experimental tests, the focus of which seems to be forbidden fleshworks, weapons development, and augmetic research. Inquisitor Srax-Rhame of the Ordo Hereticus has made it his goal to confront and destroy the Logicians. In recent years he has put forth the theory that the Logicians are operating on some sort of rapidly accelerating timetable, seeking to quickly develop an arsenal with which to engage in some future war or prepare for some coming intrigue of importance to them---worth taking the risk of breaking their centuries of long silence. Whether or not the notorious firebrand Srax- Rhame is correct, it is certain that the number of contacts with the cult has increased drastically in the last decade and that it is moving toward some dark and heretical purpose of its own. 'The Riddle of the Logicians' The Logicians are a conspiracy of so called progressives inspired by a proscribed doctrine outlined in the pages of In Defence of the Future: A Logical Discourse. An agglomeration of merchants, hereteks, and nobles, the Logicians hold the heretical belief in the importance of progress. They pursue technology and forbidden knowledge in the hope of restoring mankind to the god-like state it once held in its lost “golden age.” The cult’s activities in the Calixis sector are centered on the hording of power and exploration of forbidden knowledge. The riddle of the Logicians is whether it is the Recongregator inspired creature it seems; even to those of the Recongregator doctrine do not know whether the Logicians are one of their untamed monsters loosed on a wounded galaxy. The great mystery in the matter is whether or not the Logicians are a creation of a Recongregator’s scheming. The spread of the tech-cult through the dissemination of an idea rather than demagogues and fanatics is one favored by Recongregators and seen in the corrupting proliferation of the text In Defence of the Future: A Logical Discourse. The overt doctrine of progress at any price and obtaining lost and forbidden technologies through dealing with hereteks, the most ambitious and mercenary of the Commercia, and the nobility all reek of Recongregator influence. The only problem with this view is that it the evidence bears little chance of it being true, no matter how much some in the faction might wish it so. It is a riddle that grows all the more knotted when it is considered that even powerful Calixian Recongregator Inquisitors like Astrid Skane, Lucius Fulcio, and Lhor know of no influence their kind have exerted over the Logicians. Also the past actions of the heretical tech cult have proved to be both damaging to individual Recongregator plans, and served as an open case in point for rival factions of the perils of such revolutionary thinking. The solution to the riddle must therefore be either that the Logicians are the product of parallel evolution---a cult whose doctrine is something akin to an extreme form of the faction’s own---or that it was once a cat’s-paw grown to a power and life of its own. Some feel that the Logicians are perhaps the product of some unseen and unknown Recongregator plan of unparalleled subtlety, although others in the faction condemn this theory as no more than dangerous hubris. 'Inquisitorial Threat Briefing' The Logician cult and its attendant heresies of technology and doctrine are a clear and present danger to the stability of the Calixis Sector, the faith of the masses, and sacred auspices of the Priesthood of Mars. To be found guilty of being part of the cult, in its service, or even to have unlicensed possession of a copy of the Logical Discourse is enough to warrant a death sentence under Imperial law—a fate marginally more merciful than what the Adeptus Mechanicus prescribes for the crime in its own holdings. Within the Holy Ordos, the direct persecution of the Logician cult is the chief responsibility of the Ordo Hereticus, and it is a task they shoulder gladly, as its anti-Imperial, secularist, and subversive agendas provoke the most profound loathing and antipathy in the Witch Hunter’s ranks. Owing to the cult’s tendency to delve into the forbidden lores of alien science, unrestricted progress, and the ancient past, both the Ordo Xenos and the authorities of the Adeptus Mechanicus are also bitterly opposed to the cult’s activities. Finally, since the days of the Proclamation of Scant Mercy, both the Adeptus Arbites and sector enforcer cadres have the stated duty to take extreme measures against the cult whenever it is encountered. Given the power and breadth of the forces ranged against the cult, it is perhaps surprising that the cult is not only still present within the sector, but seems to be increasing steadily in power and reach. It is a testament to both the highly resourced and focused nature of the Logicians’ conspiracies and their sheer ruthlessness in maintaining their covert activities that they continue to operate despite such opposition. However, some fear privately that the cult may have secret backing from some renegade factions within the Adepta or the Inquisition itself. All Inquisitorial forces in the field are briefed to expect a highly proficient and skilled enemy in the Logicians, one that will flee if not cornered, often inflicting huge death tolls while doing so in order to cover its operatives’ escape. Accordingly, (and with perhaps uncharacteristic subtlety) the Ordo Hereticus’s standing orders, issued at the vociferous petitioning of Inquisitor Srax-Rhame, is to match the Logicians’ intrigues with intrigues of the Inquisition’s own. Already on Scintilla and other worlds, the threads of a vast web of covert actions, espionage, and lies is being woven to ensnare the wider cult. However, when this web draws tight, the Ordo Hereticus will stay its hand no longer, and the Logicians will burn. 'Unique Equipment' The Fruits of Forbidden Sciences The Logician cells in the Calixis Sector have at their disposal a number of arcane and unusual weapons and devices, often incorporating a blend of unsanctioned and forbidden technology, and even in some cases materials of xenos origin. There are many such devices; here are but a few examples: Cerebral Annihilator Used to conduct covert murder and dispose of test subjects, this easily concealed palm unit uses a focused electromagnetic field designed specifically to destroy the delicate neural synapses in a living brain. The unit must be held within a few centimeters of the skull for at least one full round to function and is too precise and delicate to use as a weapon against any target that is not unconscious or completely immobile. Any living creature so affected must pass a Very Hard (–30) Toughness Test or suffer immediate death from massive cerebral hemorrhaging. Victims killed by this device appear to have suffered a sudden natural death, unless when autopsied their examiner passes a Difficult (–20) Medicae Test to determine otherwise. Grav-Flux Harness These highly advanced suspensor systems are no larger or encumbering than a webbing belt. They allow their operators to move with blinding speed and defy gravity, leaping, climbing, and bounding with unnatural ease and facility. The materials and technological lore used to construct such harnesses are extremely rare, and their use is restricted to the finest assassins of the Ashen Tear and other senior killers employed by the cult. In order to successfully use the harness, the wearer must have Pilot (Grav Harness)---a new Skill that works identically to the Pilot skill and has a prerequisite of Ag 35. While the harness is worn and active, the air visibly ripples around the user, and he counts as having the Unnatural Speed (×2) trait and a +10 bonus to his Dodge skill. Additionally, by passing a Pilot (Grav Harness) Test, with a Difficulty determined by what he is attempting, the user counts as having Unnatural Strength/Agility (×2) for the purposes of leaping, climbing and tumbling only. The harness contains a somewhat unstable integrated high capacity power-cell that lasts for about an hour of continuous use. If the wearer suffers Critical Damage from an energy (E) source to the Body Location while wearing an active harness, there is a 50% chance that the harness will short out, destroying itself and inflicting 1d10 E Damage (with the Shock Quality) to the user. Berserker Thorn A very unusual device, this arcane-looking heavy-pronged dart is laced with circuitry and power coils and contains a strange and baleful technology little understood even by the Logicians. When breaching a servitor or similar mechanism’s control system, the penetrating barbs release a cascading pulse of electromagnetic force and poisonous machine sprits that can overload and burn out the imprinted command functions and drive such a machine into an uncontrolled murderous rage. Placing a Berserker Thorn requires access to the target device’s central control system and a successful application of the Tech-Use skill at a Difficulty rating determined by the complexity of the target. Special Rule: Berserker Pulse Targets with the Machine trait of at least 3 or higher, cogitator stacks, and the like are all subject to the pulse’s effects. If they have a listed Willpower Characteristic, they may attempt to resist by passing a Hard (–20) Willpower Test; otherwise the effects are automatic. Servitors and similar systems are driven insane and into an uncontrollable rage for 1d5 hours (or if the degrees of failure in the Test exceed their Willpower bonus, this state is permanent). During this time, they attack in the manner of a rabid beast, immediately entering a berserk rage as described in the Frenzy talent. During this time, they attack without reason or desire for self-preservation, firing indiscriminately with any weapon they possess or simply bludgeoning their targets to wreckage or a bloody pulp if they have no other weapons available. The insane machines’ targets are any perceived threats, anything that moves, or anything within reach---in that order. Devices such as data-stacks incapable of perceiving their environment or acting independently will simply be destroyed from within, their machine spirits driven mad and their memories corrupted and locked into an oblivion of spiraling collapse.